Pokémon Champions: Emerald
by Va1iantVanguard
Summary: My first fanfic. Witten in first person from the point of view of an OC. A novelisation of Pokemon Emerald, but with a few tweaks to the story. Rated T for possible language later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OCs Sky, Ben, Damon and their families**

**Okay, so here's the story. I'm in the process of changing it from past to present tense, because I've started writing in present tense and it makes more sense this way. Anyway, here you go. It's the third in a series, but I started this first so I decided to upload it now for some reason. Enjoy, and please review!**

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><p>I lean against the railings of the huge ferry we're cruising on. The salty ocean breeze blows my short, brown hair into my face, but I don't mind. After a long journey, we are finally arriving in the Hoenn Region. By 'we' I mean me and my friends, Ben Hastings and Sky Tate. Ben's 13 like me, and Sky's a year older at 14. I've recently participated in the Johto League, and I met up with Sky and Ben before the Championships. They had both been back at their homes; Ben in Fiore helping his grandfather, Professor Hastings, with his research; and Sky in a place called Lagoe, but she doesn't mention much else about it. Anyway, we've just spent a week on a ferry on the way to Hoenn, and now the outline of Slateport City is creeping over the horizon as we make our way towards it.<p>

"We're finally here," Sky says, stretching her arms up above her head.

"It's about time," Ben agrees.

As we wonder what Hoenn would be like, unbeknownst to us, an ancient Pokémon is stirring in the waves under our ferry. And it isn't happy.

"Whoa!" I cry, as the boat is rocked by intense waves rising up from the sea.

"Where did these waves come from?" Sky exclaims, as she grabs the railing to try and regain her balance.

"I dunno, but hold on!" Ben shouts, as the ferry shakes violently. We all cling onto the railing as the waves grow increasingly fierce. Anything that isn't fixed down is flung along the deck like paper in the wind. The boat is rocking so much it makes me dizzy just looking at it. As I cling onto the railings, I glance down over the side, and see a huge shape in the water. It's a big oval, with two wing-like things and two tails that split into four, and it has glowing red markings all over its body.

"Look at this you guys!" I shout, hitting Ben to get his attention. "What is it?" The two of them join me in looking over the side.

"How the hell should I know?" Sky cries back.

"Go, Metagross and Cradily! Cradily, Ingrain; Metagross, Psychic!" A voice shouts from behind us. I tear my eyes away from the sea creature and turn around as best I can whilst keeping my grip on the railings. I see a man in a suit with two strange looking Pokémon; one's green, with a long neck and eight pink tentacles coming out from the back of its head, and the other has a steel, circular body with a grey cross in-between its red eyes, with four legs emerging from the body. The green one's eyes glow green, and long roots emerge from its body and burrow into the ship's deck, and the trainer grabs hold of its neck. The other one's eyes glow light blue, and all the objects that had been flying about freeze immediately, radiating an aura of blue light. I begin to feel strange, and as I look down I see that I'm glowing blue too, as are Sky and Ben, along with the rest of the ship. The steel Pokémon cries out, and the ship and everything on it rises up into the air with the steel Pokémon's psychic power.

"Good job, Metagross." The trainer says, and lets go of the green Pokémon's neck. "You too, Cradily,"

"That was amazing," I say, and walk over to the man. "I'm Damon Rhodes, and these are my friends, Sky Tate and Ben Hastings."

"Hi," Sky says, and Ben nods in greeting.

"I'm Steven." He says. "Steven Stone." Steven turns to face his two Pokémon. "Good job, Cradily, return," The green Pokémon glows red, and returns to its poké ball. "Metagross, can you drop us off in the harbour?" Metagross nods, and returns its focus to transporting the ship to shore.

"Those are some powerful Pokémon," Ben compliments.

"Thanks," Steven smiles. "I've been raising Metagross since I was a child, and I got Cradily, then a Lileep, as a present from my father a few years ago."

"You must've trained them really well," Sky says.

"What Pokémon have you got?" Steven inquires.

"Well, I've caught a lot, but I don't have any with me as I've come to start a new journey." I answer.

"Same," Sky and Ben say.

"Cool," Steven says, smiling. "It's never too late for a new beginning."

"Looks like the sea's dying down," I note, as I glance over the side and see the waves receding back under the sea.

"Appears so," Steven says with a frown. "But looks can be deceiving. Metagross, can you continue on our way to the harbour?"

Passengers that had been sheltering below return to the deck to see what had happened, and notice Steven and his Metagross. The captain of the boat walks over, and thanked Steven and his Pokémon. We eventually reach the harbour, and Steven has his Metagross gently deposit the boat in the water beside the pier.

"Thank you, Metagross." Steven says, as he recalls his Pokémon. The crew on the pier raise the stairs up to the boat, and Steven leads the way down the stairs to ground level. "Welcome to Slateport City." Steven says to us, as the rest of the passengers disembark in a nervous hurry.

"So which way do we go now?" Ben asks.

"Beats me." Sky replies, as we look round for a signpost or something similar.

"Where are you headed?" Steven asks

"To Professor Birch's lab, but we don't exactly know where that is, or indeed how to get there," I grinned.

"That's in Littleroot Town. I can take you there if you want," Steven offers.

"Really? You're not too busy?" Ben asks.

"Sure, no problem," Steven replies. "Come on out Claydol!" He throws a poké ball up into the air, and in a flash of white light a tall, black Pokémon appears. It has a round head, with many pink eyes, and two short, cannon-like arms.

"You sure have some cool Pokémon, Steven," Sky compliments, and Steven just grins.

"Thanks, Sky. Claydol, Teleport!" He orders, and the Clay Doll Pokémon begins to glow white. After a few seconds, there's a flash of white and the world around us disappears. Before I could get a proper look at the limbo we were now in, the void was gone and replaced by a small village surrounded by trees. I suddenly _extremely _dizzy, so I steady myself against the wall of what's easily the biggest building in the town. I look around, and see Sky was sitting down on the dewy grass to regain her balance, but Ben and Steven are standing up just fine, chuckling at us. They're obviously no strangers to teleportation

"Here we are. Littleroot Town," Steven says, as he smiles at mine and Sky's reactions to the teleportation. "Don't worry; the dizziness will wear off eventually. I think. Anyway, that's the professor's lab right there," He points to the building I'm leaning on. "Good luck on your journey. I hope we cross paths again in the future." He nods twice, once to us in farewell and the second time to his Claydol to signal the Teleportation. As Claydol begins to glow again, I wave Steven off, as do Sky and Ben. Steven smiles, then he and Claydol disappear in a flash of light.

"You guys okay?" Ben asks, struggling to keep a straight face after our dizziness.

"Yep," I said, as I straighten up. I offer my hand to Sky, who uses it to pull herself to her feet.

"Thanks Damon," She says.

"No problem," I say. "Shall we?" I lead the way to the lab's door and knock twice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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><p>Almost straight away, the door is pulled open by a girl about a year younger than Ben and me. She's wearing a short red dress, with black shorts and an emerald bandanna covering her shoulder-length brown hair.<p>

"Hello," She says. "I'm May. May Birch. If you're here to see the professor, he's out at the moment. He should be back soon, though. Sorry to be rude, but you are?"

"I'm Damon Rhodes." I reply. "I've come from Pallet Town in Kanto to start a new journey."

"I'm Sky Tate," Sky adds.

"And I'm Ben Hastings. Nice to meet you, May. Are you related to the professor?"

"Yep, he's my uncle." She replies. "My dad's the Gym Leader in Petalburg City, but my mum lives here so I do as well. Plus my uncle's here, and he's like my dad as well. But, he's out on fieldwork a lot so he's not here much. Today he's gone up to Oldale Town to research the Pokémon up there. He shouldn't be long though,"

"Can we wait inside?" I ask.

"Sure, be my guest," May says, and steps back into the lab. The three of us follow, and May leads us to a small living area to the side of the research area. There is a computer, a kettle, a mini-fridge and three couches. May goes and sits down on one, so Ben and I sit on another while Sky swivels the chair at the computer round and sits on that.

"I might go and explore," Sky says. "See what there is in the forest around the town."

"I'll come too," Ben says. "Something to do,"

As the two of them head out of the door, May begins to speak. "So, Damon, have you met any Hoenn Pokémon yet?"

"A few, like three or something." I reply. "I met a guy called Steven Stone. You heard of him?"

"Steven Stone? Are you serious?" May asks sceptically.

"Yeah. Why?" I ask.

"He used to be the Champion of the region, but he stepped down."

"Really?"

"Yep, but no one knows why. Anyway, want to know about the Pokémon you saw?" She asks.

"Sure," I replied, and May goes and sits on the computer. I grab another chair and sit next to her.

"Do you know what they were called?" May asks, as she boots up the computer.

"Yeah, there was Claydol, Metagross and, erm…" I struggle to remember what the green Pokémon was called. "Cradily, that's it."

May types the names into a database on the computer. "This is my dad's pokédex." May says, as she enters Cradily's name. "He has the pocket versions as well, but he uses this in his lab research and this is more extensive, and I update it from mine. Anyway, there you go."

I look at the screen, and see precise information on all three Pokémon:

_Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokémon. Metagross has four brains that are joined by a complex neural network. As a result of integration, this Pokémon is smarter than a supercomputer._

_Cradily, the Barnacle Pokémon. It drags its heavy body along the seafloor. It makes its nest in the shallows of warm seas. Cradily can be seen on beaches when the tide goes out._

_Claydol, the Clay Doll Pokémon. A Claydol sleeps while hovering in midair. Its arms are separate from its body. They are kept floating by the Pokémon's manipulation of psychic power._

"Cool," I say, once I've finished reading about Claydol. "So, do you have any Pokémon, May?"

"I was hoping you'd ask." She says with a smile. "Torchic, Wurmple, come down here!" Two Pokémon run down the stairs from what must be bedrooms; one looks like a small orange chicken, while the other one looks like a pink and white spiky caterpillar. "That's Torchic," May says, pointing to the orange one, "And that's Wurmple."

"Torchic and Wurmple, huh?" I repeat, as I type their names into the pokédex. Their information comes up after a few seconds:

_Torchic, the Chick Pokémon. If attacked, it strikes back by spitting balls of fire it forms in its stomach. A Torchic dislikes darkness because it can't see its surroundings._

_Wurmple, the Worm Pokémon. It sticks to tree branches and eats leaves. The thread it spits from its mouth, which becomes gooey when it touches air, slows the movement of its foes._

"Cool," I say again, as knocking comes from the door. Before we can answer it, the door swings open and a young boy rushes into the lab.

"May, May, you've got to help!" He cries.

"Why?" She says, grabbing his shoulders to try and calm him. "Max, calm down, tell me what's wrong."

"It's Professor Birch." He wails. "He's being attacked by some Mightyena on Route 101!"

"Oh no!" May cries in horror. "Max, go back home. Damon, let's go!" I nod, and the two of us run out the lab, with Torchic and Wurmple following. "Here," May says, and she tossea me her pokédex. It's more advanced than my Johto version, and it's red, rectangular and has a rounded edge. I press a button at the side, and the cover rotates round to the back. It's already set to Mightyena, and it read _Mightyena, the Bite Pokémon. In the wild, Mightyena live in a pack. They never defy their leader's orders. They defeat foes with perfectly coordinated teamwork._

"Then we'll just have to use teamwork as well." I say, as we reach the edge of Littleroot Town.

"HEEEELPP!" A voice cries as we reach a clearing. I see a man in a lab coat hurriedly climbing a tree to escape three grey dog-like Pokémon, which must be the Mightyena.

"May, quickly! Help me!" The professor exclaims, as he clings to the branches of the tree. May points to a bag strewn on the floor; the professor must have dropped it in his hurry. She reaches inside, and procures two poké balls. "Here, pick one!" She says, and rolls them over to me. "Torchic, Wurmple, let's go!" She begins battling two of the Mightyena as I reach the poké balls. One holds a small blue thing, with a fin on its head and a long tail, and the other had a green Pokémon, with yellow eyes, a red chest and a big tail. I quickly hold the pokédex to them, and for the first one it says: _Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokémon. On land, it can powerfully lift large boulders by planting its four feet and heaving. It sleeps by burying itself in soil at the water's edge._

And for the other one: _Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokémon. It makes its nest in a giant tree in the forest. It ferociously guards against anything nearing its territory. It is said to be the protector of the forest's trees._ After a snap decision, I grab the Treecko's poké ball and threw it. The Treecko appears in a flash of light, and stares at the remaining Mightyena. The list of Treecko's moves appears on the pokédex: Pound and Leer.

"Okay, Treecko, use Pound!" I ordered. Treecko jumps up, spins around in midair and hits the Mightyena with his tail. The Mightyena stumbles, but retaliates by Tackling the Wood Gecko Pokémon. Treecko falls back, but lands on his feet, and swings back and uses Pound again. It hits Mightyena on the head, and the Bite Pokémon collapses to the ground. However, it manages to get back up, albeit shakily, and uses Take Down. It flings its whole body at Treecko, and it crashes into him. Treecko's injured, but the Mightyena is too. Unfortunately, the Bite Pokémon gets up first, and, to my horror, it flings itself at Treecko with Giga Impact. Treecko is still struggling, so if Mightyena is allowed to land this attack, the Wood Gecko Pokémon won't stand a chance. However, just as Mightyena neares impact, a new attack appears on the pokédex: Absorb

"Treecko, quick, use Absorb!" I cry, and Treecko's eyes glow green. He holds his palms up, and Mightyena stops in midair. As Mightyena struggles and writhes, glowing green orbs fly from Mightyena's body into Treecko's hands. Eventually the attack stops, but only when Treecko has regained enough strength to be able to launch another attack. As Mightyena starts its decent anew, Treecko leaps up and slams the Bite Pokémon with its tail. Mightyena is sent flying, and crashes to earth. May has defeated the other two Mightyena also, and the trio of them run off into the forest with their tails between their legs.

"Yeah!" May says, and she high-fives me. "Well done, you guys!" She says to her Pokémon. "You too, Damon."

"Thanks, but Treecko did all the work really." I say, and the Treecko jumps up onto my head. May laughs, but it's interrupted by Professor Birch's plea.

"Can someone please get me down?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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><p>After May and I finally get the Professor down from his tree, we return to the lab in Littleroot Town where Sky and Ben are waiting.<p>

"What kept you?" Sky asks, as we sit back down in the living area. May and I explain the professor's predicament, and the subsequent battle with the Mightyena.

"Wow," Ben says in astonishment.

"Yes, it's not one of my prouder moments, but let's just try and forget about it for now." The professor says sheepishly. "I'm Professor Birch, and I specialise in studying the habitats of Pokémon and their behaviour in the wild. Anyway, now we've got introductions out the way, I believe you three came for some starter Pokémon."

"Yes, please," Ben says.

"I don't need one. I caught a Taillow out there." Sky says, and opens a poké ball from her belt. A flash of white light and a small green bird appears. I remember that I still have May's pokédex and held it up to Taillow, and it read_ Taillow, the Tinyswallow Pokémon. Although it is small, it is very courageous. It will take on a larger Skarmory on an equal footing. However, its will weakens if it becomes hungry. _However, the Taillow the pokédex showed was dark grey.

"Wow, that's a Shiny Pokémon, Sky!" May exclaims.

"I know." Sky replies. "Somehow, every Pokémon I find and want are Shiny. I guess I'm just really lucky."

"How about _insanely _lucky?" I comment. "Or just incredibly jammy."

"Did you know only 1 in 8192 Pokémon are shiny?" Birch said, as he examines the Taillow.

"Really?" Sky says, surprised. "I've got nine of them." The professor can't hide his surprise, and his jaw falls open.

"Close your mouth, uncle," May rolls her eyes.

"Umm, professor, would it be alright if I kept the Treecko I used earlier?" I ask, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Yes, I don't see why not." Birch says. "That's why they were in my bag." He reached in, and took out the ball with the Mudkip. "Here you go Ben. Meet Mudkip."

"Thanks professor." He says, takes the ball and holds it close to his face to get a better look at the Pokémon. The Mudkip wags its tail and smiles. Ben smiles back, and lets the Mudkip out.

"Good choice." Birch says. "I've heard Mudkip are very reliable partners."

"Thanks," Ben said, and I release Treecko to join Mudkip. Taillow and the two starter Pokémon greet each other, and run off to play with May's Pokémon. May smiles at the five of them, but she then turns to me. "Could I have my pokédex back please, Damon?"

"Oh yeah, sorry." I say, and hand it back to her.

"That's no matter; I've got ones for you three here." Birch says, and procures three pokédexes, the same model as May's, but one's blue, another green and the last white. He also gets out three cables, and plugs one into each of the pokédexes. He holds them out, and I choose the blue one, Ben gets the green and Sky picks the white.

"You should know what to do, I presume." He instructs. "You just plug the other end of the cable into your current pokédex, and your new one will be automatically updated with all the information from your old one."

"Sound simple enough." I say, and plug the cable into my Johto Pokédex. Once it's connected, I hear a whirring as the data is transferred into the new one. Once it had finished, a _ping_ sounded, and I unplug the blue pokédex. Sky and Ben do the same, and I switch on my new pokédex. Turning the big button at the side, I scroll down through all the old Pokémon until I come to the new Hoenn Pokémon. However, I close it, deciding to look at the new Pokémon later.

"Thanks, professor," I say, as I place the new pokédex in my bag.

"I'll take your old ones for you, if you want," Birch says, and Sky and Ben pass their old pokédexes to him, but I hold onto mine.

"No, thanks. I'd like to keep mine, for the memories."

"No problem." The professor replies, and he puts them down on his desk and turns back to us. "I think you'll be heading for Oldale Town first. Its just to the north of here, you should find it quite easily."

"Thanks again professor, bye!" I say, and walk to the door with Sky and Ben beside me. Our three Pokémon run back over after saying bye to May's Pokémon, and return to their poké balls.

"Good luck, you three!" the professor says, as we emerge back into the fresh air of Littleroot Town.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

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><p>"Right, so, this way?" I ask, pointing to a road out of the town.<p>

"No, it's this way." Sky replies, walking towards a different exit.

"Actually, Sky, it is that way," May says, as she emerges from the lab after us, followed by her two Pokémon. "Damon was right. That way's a dead end."

"Haha," I joke at Sky, and she gently punches my shoulder.

"Hey, you just guessed!" Sky says in indignation, but she smiles and the four of us walk north towards Oldale Town.

"You want to come with us, May?" Ben asks. He points to me and Sky. "With these two we'll probably just get lost."

"Yeah, I mean, if that's alright…" May say.

"Course it's alright." I reply. "The more the merrier."

"Hey, how about we let our Pokémon out again?" Sky suggests, and holds up her Taillow's poké ball.

"Sure," May answers, and releases her two Pokémon. I copy her with Treecko, and Ben throws in Mudkip, and finally Sky lets Taillow out. However, the white light doesn't fade from Wurmple, and the Worm Pokémon begins to change shape.

"Whoa, it's evolving!" May exclaims, as we watch on in awe. Eventually, the white light fades, and in Wurmple's place, stands a white, round Pokémon with two red eyes. I hold my pokédex up to it.

_Silcoon, the Cocoon Pokémon. It prepares for evolution using the energy it stored while it was a Wurmple. It keeps __watch__ over the surroundings with its two eyes._

"Wow, I've got a Silcoon!" May cries happily, and hugs her new Pokémon. "Silcoon can evolve into one of two Pokémon – Silcoon or Cascoon." She explains. "Silcoon evolves into Beautifly and Cascoon into Dustox. I'm glad I got a Silcoon, but I wouldn't have minded having a Dustox."

"How is its evolution determined?" Ben inquires, showing the Pokémon researcher within him.

"I'm not sure," May replies, frowning. "Its nothing obvious, like an evolutionary stone. I don't think even my uncle knows."

"Looks like we still don't know everything about Pokémon." I say, as I glance up at the darkening sky.

"Far from it." May replies. We just talk for the rest of the way to Oldale Town, and we all learn more about each other. Turns out that May is originally from Goldenrod City in Johto, but she moved when her Dad became a gym leader. All our Pokémon become friends as well; they play tig and other games. But, eventually we reach Oldale Town, and it's time for farewell.

"Bye, then, May," I say, waving to her as she walks back towards Route 101, her two Pokémon right behind her. Treecko clambers up my back and onto my head, so that it can wave to Silcoon and Torchic.

"Bye! Petalburg City is just west of here, so that's the way you should probably head." She shouts back, as she drops down one of the many ledges that pepper the route.

"Thanks, May, bye!" Sky says, and Ben stands beside her, waving.

"Right, so shall we check into the Pokémon centre?" Ben suggests, as he picks Mudkip up.

"Sure," I say, and Treecko and I lead the way to the red and white the building to the north of the town. Taillow flies down and perches on Sky's shoulder as the six of us walk into the lobby of the Pokémon centre. Behind the desk, Nurse Joy is busy typing away at a computer, but her Chansey sees us and taps the Nurse on the shoulder. She turns, and smiles at us.

"Yes, how can I help?"

"We'd like a room please." Ben answers.

"Okay," She smiles again, and types something into the computer. Then, she grabs a set of keys from a pigeon hole on the wall behind her, and hands them to Ben.

"You're in room number 12." She says. "Chansey will show you there." The Egg Pokémon smiles, and leads the way upstairs. We pass through a corridor with lots of other rooms, where other trainers must be resting. Eventually we reach the door, and Chansey takes the key from Ben and opens it. The pink Pokémon smiles, handed the key back and returns downstairs.

"In we go," I say, and the three of us walk inside. There are three beds with wooden frames, a TV on the wall, three cosy looking armchairs, a fireplace on the far wall beside the door to the balcony, a small bathroom off to the side, and a chest of drawers beneath the TV. I walk over and collapse onto the bed in the centre, face-first.

"Oh, this is comfy," I say, my voice muffled by the bed. "This is better than the beds on the ship." Those beds had been made of metal and not very comfortable. Treecko jumps down from my head and runs to play with Mudkip and Taillow some more.

"That's not hard to believe," Ben says, as he goes and sits on his bed. Sky drops her bag at the foot of her bed, and flicks on the TV.

"Let's see what's on, shall we?" Sky asked as she sits on one of the armchairs. She flicks through channels showing news about Hoenn, but stops on a battle between two members of the Elite Four, a woman in a blue bikini with flowers in her hair called Phoebe, and another woman in a long purple dress named Glacia. On the field are two Pokémon; Phoebe's Pokémon is small and black with a zip for a mouth; and Glacia's Pokémon looks like a large walrus, with bug tusks. I hold my pokédex up to the black one, and Ben checks the walrus.

"Banette, the Marionette Pokémon." I read aloud. "An abandoned plush doll became this Pokémon. They are said to live in garbage dumps and wander about in search of the children that threw them away."

"Walrein, the Ice Break Pokémon." Ben says about the Walrein. "To protect its herd, the leader battles anything that invades its territory, even at the cost of its life. Its tusks may snap off in battle."

"It looks like the Banette is winning," Sky comments, as the Banette lands a direct Thunderbolt on Walrein.

"Not for long. The outcome of a battle can change like that," Ben says, clicking his fingers for emphasis.

And, as if she had heard him, Glacia orders her next move. "Now Walrein, use Rest!" Her Pokémon recovers its health by collapsing to the floor, asleep.

"Finish this Banette!" Phoebe commands. "Use Shadow Ball!" The Marionett Pokémon holds its hands together, and forms a dark orb of shadows in-between them, aiming at the sleeping Walrein, and fires the ghost attack at the Ice Break Pokémon. The Walrein snores loudly, but then Glacia gives her final order.

"Now Walrein, Sleep Talk!" She cries, and the Walrein, although asleep, forms a ball of ice between its tusks and fires it at Banette. The Marionette Pokémon's Shadow Ball is blasted into nothing by the attack, and Banette is hit head on, and collapses to the field floor, knocked out.

"And down goes Phoebe's last Pokémon, from a Sleep Talked Ice Ball!" The announcer says as the two Elite Four members recall their Pokémon. "Glacia has proved her ranking in the Elite Four by beating both Phoebe and Sidney. Now if she can defeat Drake, then she'll be able to take his position at the top of the Elite Four. This'll be happening tomorrow at the same time, so tune in again!"

"We need to watch that," Sky says as she turns off the TV. "What shall we do now?"

"I dunno," I reply.

"Shall we go for a walk?" Ben suggests. "You know, check out Oldale Town and see the route to Petalburg City."

"Sounds good to me," Sky says, pulling on her long coat. I don my black jacket, and as I'm pulling on my black fingerless gloves, Treecko runs and jumps up onto my head. I stagger forward, surprised, and the others laugh. I look up at Treecko, and the Wood Gecko Pokémon smiles back at me. Sky's Taillow flies up and perches on her shoulder, and Ben holds his Mudkip in his arms. Leaving our bags, I turn out the lights and follow the other two out. After locking the door behind us, we head back downstairs and out into the fresh air of Oldale Town.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

><p>"So, that's the way to Petalburg City," Ben says, pointing to the east. "So what's that way?" He points to a route leading north of the town.<p>

"I dunno," Sky says, puzzled. "Let's go find out!" She and Taillow run off towards the route, forcing Ben and me to chase after her. We catch her up on the shore of a big lake surrounded by trees. She's gazing impatiently at us, and tapping an imaginary watch on her wrist.

"Slowpokes!" She says, laughing at us.

I begin thinking of a retort, but I'm interrupted by an explosion. We stop and look around, startled, but we can't see anything. Then, Ben points to a light from across the lake. The three of us and our Pokémon make our way round one side until we're close enough to see what's happening. Through a gap in the trees, I can see two trainers battling fiercely. One has a white, bipedal, cat-like Pokémon with huge claws and red scars on its body, and the other has a dark grey shark with a yellow scar on its head. I hold my pokédex up to the white one, and Sky registers the shark.

Mine reads _Zangoose, the Cat Ferret Pokémon. When it battles, it stands on its hind legs and attacks with its sharply clawed forelegs. Its fur bristles if it encounters any Seviper._

Sky's reads _Sharpedo, the Brutal Pokémon. The vicious and sly gangster of the sea. Its skin is specially textured to minimize drag in water. Its speed tops out at over 75 miles per hour._

"Whoa," Ben says, as the Sharpedo's trainer, a woman with a blue bandana over her red hair, orders a Hyper Beam. The Brutal Pokémon charges a golden orb in its mouth, and quicker than I would have thought, launches the golden beam at Zangoose. The Zangoose's trainer, a tall man in a dark red hoodie, is unfazed, however, and commands his Pokémon to use Detect. A blue glint appeared in the Cat Ferret Pokémon's eyes, and it somersaults over the beam at the last possible second.

"Now Zangoose, use X-Scissor!" The man orders and Zangoose' claws glow light green. It runs up to the panting Sharpedo and brings them down in an 'X' on Sharpedo. The Brutal Pokémon is thrown backwards, but manages to regain its balance.

"Aqua Jet, Sharpedo!" The trainer orders, and Sharpedo flies at the Cat Ferret Pokémon with the attack, but Zangoose manages to dodge the attack with another Detect. Sharpedo's trainer growls in frustration as Zangoose lands another X-Scissor on her Pokémon.

"Let's finish this, Zangoose!" The man cries. "Close Combat!" The woman's eyes widen as Zangoose runs up to Sharpedo and repeatedly punches and kicks the Pokémon at lightning fast speed. After a final head-butt, Sharpedo is sent flying into a tree trunk, knocked out. The man in the hoodie smiles menacingly, as the woman grudgingly recalls her Pokémon.

"Move over, Shelly!" A deep voice booms. The woman named Shelly turns, startled, as a similarly dressed man walks up behind her. She glares at the new arrival, but he ignores her and locks his eyes on the man. "Hello, Tabitha." He sneers.

"Matt," the man called Tabitha spits. "It has been a long time."

"Too long." He agrees. "But now will be the last. Crawdaunt, use Crabhammer!" He throws in a blue and white poké ball, and a large, lobster like Pokémon appears in a flash. Ben holds his pokédex up to it, and it reads _Crawdaunt, the Rogue Pokémon. A brutish Pokémon that loves to battle. A veteran Crawdaunt that has prevailed in hundreds of battles has giant pincers marked with countless scars._

As its pincers glow light blue, Crawdaunt run up to Zangoose and pummels it with the pincers. Zangoose falls back, and crashes into the bark of a tree.

"Get up, Zangoose, and use Crush Claw!" Tabitha cries. The Zangoose' eyes blink open, and the Pokémon back flips and kicks off the tree. Its claws glow a fiery red, and as it reaches Crawdaunt, the Cat Ferret Pokémon brings its claws down on the Pokémon's head, forcing it into the ground. Zangoose leaps back to a safe distance as Crawdaunt extracts itself from the ground, enraged.

"Get them back with Swift, Crawdaunt!" Matt commands. But before I can see the attack, I feel a tugging on my trouser leg. I look down and see a small, green and white Pokémon pulling on them. I pick it up in my arms and scan it with the pokédex.

_Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. A Ralts has the power to sense the emotions of people and Pokémon with the horns on its head. It takes cover if it senses any hostility._

"So you're a Ralts." I ask. "I'm Damon, this is Ben and that's Sky. Ralts raises its head so it could see beneath the horns, and smiles at Ben and Sky. Treecko jumps onto my shoulder and greets the Pokémon. However, just as I turn my attention back to the battle, I see the Zangoose deflecting a BubbleBeam attack of Crawdaunt's. However, the attack is deflected at us. I brace myself for impact, but the impact never comes. I look up and see the Ralts holding the bubbles in place with Confusion. Quickly, our three Pokémon set about popping the bubbles before Ralts loses control. Mudkip pops some with Tackle, Taillow slashes them with Quick Attack, and Treecko bursts them with Pound. Unfortunately the bubbles are far from quiet. A loud 'pop' comes from each one, and the trainer called Matt breaks his concentration on the battle to locate the source of the noise. All three trainers notice us at the same time.

"We're being watched!" Shelly exclaims, angrily. "Go my Carvanha, both of you use Ice Beam!"

"Walrein, Hyper Beam! Crawdaunt, Swift!" Matt orders.

"Zangoose, get them with Shadow Ball!" Tabitha commands. "Houndoom, use Hyper Beam!"

In a blinding flash of light, six Pokémon appear and all prepare their attacks. Everything seems to slow down as the attacks are fired. I see Sky and Taillow taking cover behind a tree, and Ben doing the same with his Mudkip. However, the trees are too far away from me, the closest thing is the lake. An idea flashes into my head, albeit a crazy one, but I recall Treecko and hold Ralts firmly in my arms. As the attacks near, I hear Sky and Ben shouting warnings, but I know what I'm doing. Ralts looks up at me, frightened, but I grin reassuringly. The Ralts smiles nervously back at me, and just before the attacks impact with us, I dive sideways into the cold, murky waters of the lake.

The depths are illuminated by the glowing attacks passing overhead, but eventually they fade and I can't see anything. The water's absolutely freezing, so I clutch Ralts tight to share heat until I know for certain it's safe to surface. I look up, and see nothing above the lake, so I decide to risk it and surface. I kick out, and my head breaks the surface of the water. I glance round for the bank, and I vaguely make out the shapes of Sky and Ben returning their Pokémon, then gesturing to me. Keeping one hand firmly around the Ralts, I strike out for the shore. Once I'm there, Ben takes the Ralts from me, and Sky helps me up onto the shore. Once I'm out, I pick the Ralts back up and held it tight.

"We have to get out of here!" Ben says, as he picked his Mudkip up.

"N-n-no kidding!" I stutter, freezing from the icy waters. Ben glares at me.

"Come on, let's go!" Sky says firmly, and she leads the way through the trees back to the far shore. As we emerge from the dense forest, I see a figure commanding two Pokémon.

"Now, Poochyena, Natural Gift!" The figure orders. The two small, dog-like Pokémon step forward and accept a berry each from what must be their trainer. Both Pokémon eat the berries, and then their eyes begin to glow. One glows red; the other a bright pink. Both Pokémon open their mouths, and beams the same colour as their eyes shoot across the lake at the battling trainers.

"Zangoose, Shadow Ball!" I hear Tabitha's voice faintly.

"Quick Crobat, Haze!" The man called Matt cries, and the group across the lake disappear in a dark cloud of smoke. A ball of shadows flies across the lake at us, but falls short and splashes harmlessly into the lake. The Poochyena's trainer sighs, and turned to us.

"Hello, I'm-" She begins. "Wait, lets save the introductions for later. You need to get to a Pokémon centre!" The woman recalls her Pokémon and leads the way back to the Oldale Town Pokémon Centre.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

Once Nurse Joy had healed our Pokémon along with the Ralts, we headed to the lounge with the woman, who turned out to be Oldale Town's Officer Jenny. We all took seats around the coffee table, and Officer Jenny began questioning us on what we saw at the lake. Ralts was perched happily on my lap next to Treecko. Nurse Joy had given me a blanket and some hot chocolate to warm me up after my dip in the lake.

"How many people were there?" Officer Jenny asked, getting a notepad to record our answers.

"Two at first, but a third came later." Sky answered.

"Did you hear any names?"

"Yeah, the first two were Tabitha and Shelly, and the third was…" I replied. "Matt!"

Jenny's forehead wrinkled into a frown as she asked the next question. "What were they talking about? Did you hear?"

"Not really." Ben answered this time. "All they were doing was battling."

Jenny's frown deepened. "Is there anything else that you haven't mentioned that is significant?"

"No, I don't think so." Sky said, frowning as she tried to remember.

"Thanks anyway." Jenny sighed. "I'd better be off, it's getting late, and blossoming Pokémon trainers such as yourselves need lots of sleep. Especially with people like them around."

"Wait, who were those guys?" Ben asked before the policewoman got up.

"Oh, excuse me." Jenny said. "The man on his own, Tabitha, is an admin from Team Magma. The other two were from Team Aqua. Also admins."

"Team Magma? Team Aqua?" I asked.

"Yep." She nodded. "They're villainous teams, like the Rockets of Kanto and Johto. The two are sworn enemies; that's probably why they were battling. They have completely different beliefs. Team Magma worship Groudon, the legendary Pokémon of the land, while Team Aqua worship Kyogre, the legendary Pokémon of the Sea."

"Groudon and Kyogre?" I asked, looking them up in my pokédex.

_Groudon, the Continent Pokémon. Groudon has appeared in mythology as the creator of the land. It sleeps in magma underground and is said to make volcanoes erupt on awakening._

_Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokémon. Kyogre has appeared in mythology as the creator of the sea. After long years of feuding with Groudon, it took to sleep at the bottom of the sea._

"Wow." Sky breathed.

"That's them." Jenny said. "If the legends are to be believed, both Pokémon are still asleep, but Magma and Aqua plan to awaken their respective deities and tear the world out of balance. Team Magma wants to use Groudon to expand the land, whereas Team Aqua want to use Kyogre for the exact opposite.

"We don't know where they came from, or when they were formed. Team Magma is led by a man called Maxie; and Team Aqua's leader is called Archie. Both are extremely dangerous, so if you see them tell us at once."

"Of course." Ben said.

"Thank you for your time." Jenny said, getting up and heading to the door. "Take care and good luck on your journey."

"Thanks for your help." Sky said, as Jenny walked out.

"Bye!" I shouted, and then we retired to our room. "Oh, wait, I need to do something. I'll be up in a minute."

"Sure. But don't be too late." Ben said, as he and Sky climbed the stairs. I put Ralts up on the chair I was sat on and knelt down in front of her.

"Ralts, do you want to come with Treecko and me?" I asked, as Treecko jumped up next to Ralts. She looked thoughtful, but then smiled happily and hugged me.

"Okay then!" I said happily, and I produced an empty poké ball from my bag. Ralts, still smiling, tapped the button on the poké ball, and went happily inside. The ball clicked, and I held it up to celebrate my new Pokémon. Immediately I let Ralts out again, and the three of us headed upstairs to out bedroom.

Once we got to the room, I heard the shower running in the bathroom. Sky was sat on the end of her bed, trying to find something in her bag. I shut the door, and Treecko and Ralts ran over to greet Mudkip and Taillow. Sky looked up from rummaging around in her bag to see the Feeling Pokémon run by to play with Mudkip.

"Is that Ralts yours now, Damon?" She asked, pulling her pyjamas out of her bag.

"Yep, my newest team member!" I announced happily. Sky smiled as she saw all our Pokémon chasing each other around the chairs. "Oh!" I said, as I remembered the other Pokémon from the lake. Houndoom I already knew, but the woman's other Pokémon, what were they called… Carvanha! That was it. I typed it into my pokédex, and the data was read out.

_Carvanha, the Savage Pokémon. Carvanha attack ships in swarms, making them sink. Although it is said to be a very vicious Pokémon, it timidly flees as soon as it finds itself alone._

"That woman had two of those, didn't she?" Sky asked.

"Yep." I said. "I hope we run into those guys again, so I can get a little payback."

Just then the bathroom door opened, and Ben stepped out. Sky picked her pyjamas and a towel up, and then went into the steam filled bathroom.

Ben sat down in one of the armchairs and began flicking through a guide book to Hoenn. I lay down on my bed, and checked the moves my new Ralts knows – Confusion and Growl.

"Ralts, use Confusion on the apple!" I ordered as I threw an apple into the air. Ralts spun around and held the fruit aloft with her Psychic power. I smiled at the power that my new Pokémon had. I plucked the apple out of the air and picked Ralts up. The Pokémon smiled happily, and I put her back down next to Treecko. I returned to my bed and just watched the Pokémon play until Sky exited the bathroom. After my turn in the shower and another mug of hot chocolate, we climbed into out beds and settled down. While Sky and Ben fell asleep immediately, I couldn't. So, like I normally do when I can't sleep, I began to read the book that I had started back in Johto – Mystery of the Unown. It was an adventure story about a Pokémon trainer that was sent to the dimension of the Unown. I was about halfway through, to the part where the main character sees a vision of the future from the Unown. I had had a vision as well; back in the Ruins of Alph near Violet City. I saw lots of different things like legendary battles between gigantic Pokémon and scenes of mass destruction. Startlingly two of the things I saw have come true – my battle against the Rocket Executive Archer atop the Goldenrod City Radio Tower and my capture of LUgia in the basement of the Whirl Islands. If those came true, what else will?


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing

This is sort of a short, recap chapter of what has happened to the character before he came to Hoenn. Its not really important to the story, but you can read it if you want.

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><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

In the morning I rose early to watch the sunrise. I had only managed to drift off at around midnight, so I stifled a yawn as I stepped out onto the balcony. As the orange orb appeared over the horizon, I remembered my mum, Adelle, and Charlie, my brother, back home in Pallet Town. Charlie will be ten soon, so he'll be starting a Pokémon journey. I wonder which Pokémon he'll choose.

I remember my choice. It was two years ago now, although I think of it as one due to my Giovanni-induced coma. Gary and I were presented the choice, which would eventually lead to the end of our rivalry. We used to be good friends, until he became a bully when we were seven. That's when I turned to Pokémon. I helped Professor Oak look after the Pokémon that had been left with him by travelling trainers. My sister was one of those. Three years older than me, she has beaten the Kanto and Johto Leagues, and is currently working as a temporary Gym Leader in Viridian City until someone permanent is appointed. She is fairly famous for having used four of the five evolutions of Eevee – Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon and Espeon. For some reason she doesn't have an Umbreon. She recently got her Espeon in the Johto Region. I remember when I travelled through Johto with my friend Lyra. She'll be travelling through Kanto now with Silver.

Silver was my rival in Johto, but now he's a good friend of mine. Giovanni, the leader of the evil Team Rocket, is his father, but he abandoned him as a child. Because of that Silver was a mean, rage-filled person, but when he got a Pokémon from Professor Elm, his heart opened and he became kind (eventually). He even came back in time with Celebi and me and confronted his father about his abandonment.

I'm not surprised that Giovanni abandoned his son. He is a cold, emotionless person that only cares for profit. Ben and I met him frequently when we travelled across Kanto. We thought we had stopped him when we liberated Silph Co. from Team Rocket's clutches, but he came back for me once I had beaten the Champion. Basically, he sent an anonymous letter asking for a battle in the Viridian Gym, but when I got there he was waiting, and he blew up the Gym and sent me into a coma for a year. He disappeared then, but when we went back in time we found him after he had blown up the gym and confronted him. Then he disappeared for good after a battle with his son.

Since the gym has been destroyed, Gary is running for Gym Leader and already has big plans for the gym. He has sent in an application, and is hoping to hear back soon. I hope he gets it. After I narrowly defeated him in the Kanto League, he stopped being a jerk and became my friend again. He is a powerful Pokémon trainer, and a very good friend. He is a good friend to his Pokémon as well.

I wonder how my Pokémon are doing. Professor Oak will be looking after them, but I still worry. All of them have helped me. I miss them, but I know they'll be having fun. And I've got new Pokémon now.

As if on cue, Treecko and Ralts wandered out onto the balcony. I picked Ralts up in my arms, and Treecko leapt up onto the railing. Together, my new partners and I gazed into the sunrise and wondered what awaited us in the region of Hoenn.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry it's late, I totally forgot to update yesterday

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><p>Once Sky and Ben were up, we got dressed and checked out of our room. We headed downstairs, and after a breakfast in the Pokémon centre cafeteria, we thanked Nurse Joy, and headed outside, where I saw a familiar figure walking out of the poké mart.<p>

"Hey, May!" I shouted to her.

She looked around for us, and then smiled to us.

"Hi guys!" She said, running over to us. "How was your night?"

"The night was good; the evening, not so much." I answered.

"Why, what happened?" May asked.

"Have you heard of Team Magma or Team Aqua?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"We had a minor run in with them." Sky said.

"Really? What happened?" May said, worried.

"They were having a battle, but then they saw us and attacked." Ben replied.

"Oh my gosh!" May said, shocked. "Are you all okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine." I smiled. "But it wasn't all bad. I got a new Pokémon out of it. Let's go Ralts!" I threw her poké ball, and my newest Pokémon appeared next to me.

"Wow, a Ralts!" May exclaimed, and knelt down to get a better look at the Pokémon. "Hey Damon, have you battled with it yet?"

"No, why?"

"It seems really strong." She said, standing back up. "How about the two of us have a battle?"

"How about up there, on Route 103?" Sky suggested.

"Sure, sounds great." I grinned.

The four of us made our way up there, and used our bags to mark out an arena.

"Torchic, you're up!" May cried, as she threw her Torchic's poké ball in.

"Ralts, let's go!" I shouted. My Pokémon appeared in a flash of white

"I'll referee." Sky said, walking to the side of the arena. "This will be a 1-on-1 Pokémon battle. Begin!"

"Go Torchic, Ember!" May ordered, and her Pokémon blew hot ashes across the arena at Ralts.

"Stop it with Confusion, Ralts!" I shouted, and Ralts' eyes glowed blue, and the embers froze in mid-air. "Now use Secret Power!" Ralts began to glow pink, and an energy wave of the same colour shot out at Torchic. The Chick Pokémon was hit by the wave, and flung backwards across the grass. It managed to get back up, but the Pokémon was outlined in a purple aura, and coughed as it made its way back to position.

"Oh no, Torchic, you're poisoned!" May cried, horrified. "Hang in there until we can end this. Use Peck!" Torchic's beak glowed white, and the Chick Pokémon ran at Ralts. Ralts tried Secret Power again, but Torchic jumped over the pink wave and pecked Ralts' head. Ralts stumbled back, but before Torchic Pecked again, Ralts' eyes glowed blue and Torchic froze in place. Ralts then waved its arms, and the Chick Pokémon went flying back towards May. The Pokémon rolled in the dirt, and came to a halt at its trainer's feet. Torchic tried to get back up, but it fell back into the dirt, fainted.

"Torchic!" May exclaimed, and bent down to help her Pokémon. Torchic smiled feebly, and May returned her tired partner to its poké ball.

"Well done, May." I said, picking Ralts up into my arms. "Torchic's really strong. Let's head back to the Pokémon centre and heal him."

The four of us made our way back to Oldale Town, and after a brief stop in the Pokémon centre, we headed to Route 102.

"I'm gonna head back to Littleroot." May said as we reached the edge of the town. "My uncle wants me to help him research the habitats of Wurmple around Littleroot Town.

"Oh, okay," I said. "Hope to see you soon, May."

She smiled. "You too Damon" She replied happily. "Bye guys! Say hi to my dad for me!"

"See you around, May!" Sky shouted as the three of us waved her off. "Now, let's get going."

"Yep." Ben said. "Race you!" and the three of us tore down Route 103. We ran for about a quarter of an hour with Sky and Ben drawing for the lead through the trees that bordered the route. Eventually, we came to rest by a pond that lay at the side of the route.

"Let's rest here for a minute," Sky panted.

"Good idea," I said, and collapsed to the floor. Ben sat down next to me and took a long drink of water from the bottle in his bag. He offered it to me, but I shook my head. Sky took the bottle and took a hearty swig, then lay back on the wet grass. We had been lying there for about a minute when I heard a strange cry coming from the far side of the pond. I looked up and saw a black Pokémon with four spindly legs being chased along the water by two Seadra. Sky jumped to her feet and held her pokédex up to the strange Pokémon.

_Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokémon. They gather on puddles after evening downpours, gliding across the surface of water as if sliding. It secretes honey with a sweet aroma from its head. _However, the Surskit shown on the pokédex was blue. I couldn't believe it. Sky had found _another _shiny Pokémon!

"Quick Taillow, go help Surskit!" Sky cried as she threw the poké ball out. Her Tinyswallow Pokémon appeared in a circle of stars to signify its shiny status, and stared at the two Seadra. The Surskit carried on and hid behind Sky as she focused on the Seadra.

"Now Taillow, use Wing Attack!" Taillow's wings glowed white, and the bird Pokémon flew down and hit both Seadra simultaneously. The two Dragon Pokémon were knocked back, and glared angrily at Taillow. However, the Pokémon was unfazed, and sped down for a Quick Attack. He crashed into one of the Seadra, and then Pecked the other one. This made the Seadra furious, and they both shot a Water Gun attack at Taillow. The two jets of water came right at Taillow, but at Sky's command, the Tinyswallow Pokémon used Double Team, and successfully evaded the two attacks. Two of Taillow's duplicates flickered out when hit by the attack, but the original flew down and hit both Seadra with another Wing Attack. The two Seadra knew they were outmatched, so turned tail and fled back underwater. Sky smiled, and thanked Taillow. After returning it to its poké ball, Sky bent down and turned to face the Surskit.

"Hey, its okay." She said kindly. "Those Seadra are gone. You're safe now." The Surskit looked around nervously, then smiled once it saw the Seadra had gone.

"I'm Sky." She said to the Pokémon. "That's Damon, and that's Ben." Ben smiled and I gave a little wave. "You can go back to the pond now." The Surskit gave one last look at Sky, then returned to the water.

"Come on, let's go." Sky said to us, and started towards Petalburg City. Ben and I got to out feet, but after walking for about a minute, Ben said to Sky "You've got a follower."

Sky and I turned around, and saw the Surskit following us a few metres behind. Sky backtracked towards it, and got a new poké ball from her belt.

"Do you want to come with us? Is that it?" Sky asked, kneeling down again. The Surskit nodded happily, so Sky held the poké ball out, and the Surskit tapped the button with one of its spindly legs. The Shiny Pokémon was sucked inside, and after wobbling a few times, the ball clicked shut. Sky jumped to her feet and held the ball up happily.

"Yes!" She cried. "I caught a Surskit!"

"And a Shiny one at that." I commented. "Come on, you can celebrate on the way. We must be nearly there now."

"We are." Ben replied, pointing to a gap in the trees ahead. "That's Petalburg City, straight ahead."

"Race you," I grinned, and ran off towards the break in the trees. I heard Sky and Ben start running as well, but I was pulling ahead. Laughing, I tore through the gap in the trees with Sky and Ben on my heels.

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><p>Reviews please?<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

The three of us didn't stop running until we reached the Pokémon centre.

"Beat you," I smiled, panting heavily.

"No you didn't!" Sky cried.

"I think you'll find I came first," Ben said.

"We're not going to settle this anytime soon," I said. "Let's just heal up at the Pokémon centre, then have a race to the gym."

"A fair race this time," Sky growled. "Without you running off before us."

"I have no idea what you mean," I said innocently, then grinned and led the way inside. After a quick restore by Nurse Joy, the three of us lined up outside and raced to the gym. It was in the north of the city, with tall hedges on either side. The building was different from the gyms in Johto; it was tall and silver, with a flat brown roof and rim of white going round beneath the roof. As I was looking at the building, Ben overtook me, so I refocused and managed to draw level with him. Eventually the three of us came to a halt outside the door, but before we could enter, the doors slid open soundlessly. I glanced at the other two and walked inside. The floor was fashioned like a dojo, and in the centre of the room were two people, a man and a boy. The man was tall, with black hair and a stern expression, while the boy was frail-looking with scruffy green hair. The man looked up when he heard the door open, and walked over to us.

"Hi there!" he said, smiling. "Welcome to the Petalburg Gym. I'm Norman, the Gym Leader. The professor told me you'd be coming. Damon, right? And you two must be Sky and Ben."

"Yep, that's us." I answered, shaking the gym leader's hand. "Nice to meet you,"

"Ditto," Ben said, and Sky nodded her greetings.

"Oh, I'm sorry, this is Wally." Norman said, introducing the boy. "He lives here in Petalburg City."

"Hello," he began, but then broke off into a coughing fit.

"Are you okay, Wally?" Norman asked, his brow creased with concern.

"I'll be fine," he said weakly, puffing on an inhaler. Once he'd finished, he took a deep breath and resumed talking. "I'm moving to Verdanturf Town today, and I really want a Pokémon to come with me."

"Like I said before, I would help you Wally, but I'm just too busy." Norman said apologetically. "I've got challenges scheduled all day. I'll lend you a Pokémon, but I can't accompany you."

"We'll go with you, Wally." Sky offered. The boy's eyes lit up as he heard.

"Really?" he cried happily. "Oh, thank you!"

"How about Route 102." Norman suggested. "There are lots of different Pokémon around there,"

"Okay," Sky said. "Lead the way, Wally."

"Oh, before you go, here." Norman said, handing two poké balls to Wally. "This one has a Zigzagoon in. You can use it to weaken the Pokémon you want to catch. The other one is empty; you can use it to catch the Pokémon."

"Zigzagoon?" I asked, and looked it up on my pokédex. The picture was of a small brown and cream Pokémon that looked like a racoon. The information read _Zigzagoon, the TinyRacoon Pokémon. Rubbing its nose against the ground, it always wanders about back and forth in search of something. It is distinguished by the zigzag footprints it leaves._

"Thank you Norman!" Wally exclaimed happily, and led the way. As the four of us backtracked towards Route 102, Wally began asking us all about the different types of Pokémon we'd met. By the time he came to asking us about the Pokémon we had now, we had reached the border at the edge of town. "Which Pokémon have you caught so far?" Wally asked as we left the city behind.

"Take a look. Come on out, guys!" I cried, and threw my two poké balls into the air, while Sky and Ben threw theirs in as well. Treecko, Ralts, Mudkip, Taillow and Surskit all appeared in a flash of white and smiled at Wally. Wally gazed at all of them in awe, and his eyes lit up when he saw Ralts. The boy knelt down and smiled at the Feeling Pokémon.

"Who's this Pokémon?" Wally asked as he played with Ralts.

"That's Ralts," I replied, and tossed him my pokédex. "The others are Treecko, Mudkip, Taillow and Surskit."

"Wow." Wally said in awe, as he caught the pokédex. "What's this?"

"That's a pokédex." Ben answered. "It's basically a Pokémon encyclopaedia. It has information on all Pokémon."

"Wow," Wally repeated, and held it up to Ralts. As he read the data, he asked us. "So where did you find her?"

"Just up by Route 103." I said. "Next to the lake. But a friend of ours said that Ralts aren't normally found there. Mine could be the only one."

"Oh," Wally sighed sadly, but Sky cheered him up.

"Chin up, Wally," Sky encouraged. "There are plenty of other Pokémon around." As she said this, Ben noticed a rustling bush behind us all.

"As a matter of fact, I think there may be a wild Pokémon over there,"

Wally spun round, and fixed his gaze on the bush. As we watched, a small Pokémon emerged, yawning. Wally's eyes lit up as the Ralts came into the open.

"Well, that's lucky," I commented as Wally squared up to the wild Pokémon.

"Go, Zigzagoon!" Wally cried, throwing the poké ball. The normal-type Pokémon appeared in a flash of white and barked at the psychic-type Pokémon. "Wait, what moves does Zigzagoon know?"

"Hmm, let's see." Sky said, and held her pokédex up to it. "Tackle, Headbutt and Sand-Attack,"

"Okay Zigzagoon, use Tackle!" Wally ordered, and the TinyRacoon Pokémon ran at Ralts, but in a zigzag pattern. I looked dubiously at Ben, but he just shrugged as though to say 'they probably just do that'. Anyway, Zigzagoon ran into Ralts and knocked the Feeling Pokémon back, but the Ralts regained its balance and used Confusion. Zigzagoon was held in place, then flung to one side by Ralts' attack.

"Zigzagoon, quickly, use Sand-Attack!" Wally cried, and Zigzagoon scraped the ground with its paws, sending up a cloud of sand that blocked our view of the TinyRacoon Pokémon. Ralts looked startled, and glanced around, trying to spot the normal-type Pokémon, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Now Zigzagoon! Wally shouted, and the TinyRacoon Pokémon surged out of the dust cloud and Headbutted Ralts. The Feeling Pokémon took a lot of damage and stumbled over onto its back.

"Now Wally, throw a poké ball!" Ben said, and Wally grabbed the poké ball Norman had given him, and threw it at the Ralts. The button hit the Feeling Pokémon on the forehead, and Ralts was transformed into a red light and sucked inside. The ball hit the ground and began to wobble. Wally crossed his fingers, and eventually the ball clicked shut. Wally's eyes widened, and he ran up to the poké ball and held it in the air.

"Yes!" he cried happily. "I caught a Ralts!" Zigzagoon ran up to him, and Wally bent down and stroked the Pokémon's back. "Thanks Zigzagoon," Wally said. "I couldn't have done it without you," The Zigzagoon wagged its tail and gave Wally a loving lick to his face.

"Well done Wally," Sky smiled. "We should probably head back to the gym."

"Yep," Wally said, getting back to his feet. But as he straightened up, he erupted into another coughing fit.

"Wally, are you okay?" Ben asked, moving in to help the coughing boy.

Wally couldn't speak for coughing, but pointed to his bag and managed to stutter the word "inhaler". Getting the meaning, I ran over to Wally's rucksack, and searched for his inhaler, and I found it nestled in-between two Pokémon adventure books. I grabbed it and returned to the boy. He took it and took three long puffs from it. Once Wally had recovered, Sky helped the frail boy to his feet and the four of us began walking back towards Petalburg Gym, our Pokémon trailing behind us. Once we reached the door, I turned and recalled my Pokémon, and Sky and Ben did the same, but Wally decided to leave the Zigzagoon out. The five of us walked back inside, and Norman walked over to us.

"Well? Did you catch anything?" he asked, and Wally happily released Ralts.

"Wow, a Ralts!" Norman exclaimed. "There're very rare around here,"

Norman's Zigzagoon ran over to its trainer, and Norman knelt down and stroked the Pokémon's ears. Norman looked up at Wally, and said "Not to be rude, but I think you'll be leaving soon Wally,"

"Oh yeah," Wally said sadly. "Don't get me wrong, I love my aunt and uncle, but I'll miss it here in Petalburg."

Wally was looking very downcast, so I thought I'd try and cheer him up. "But now you've got a Pokémon, you can come back and visit." I said. "For that matter, you can go anywhere with Pokémon by your side."

"Yeah, there's no reason to be sad." Ben encouraged. "This could be the start of a brand new adventure."

"They're right Wally," Norman added. "You can travel anywhere you want, and even one day come back and challenge me for a gym badge."

Wally's eyes lit up at the thought of that, and a smile grew on his face. "You're right," he said happily. "I'm gonna travel across Hoenn, and collect all the gym badges, and become friends with all sorts of different Pokémon."

"That's the spirit Wally," Norman grinned. "And I think you've made a second friend right here," Wally looked at Norman, puzzled, and saw the Zigzagoon grinning up at Wally. Norman nodded, and Wally suddenly understood. Before he could protest, Norman raised a hand. "Please, I insist. Zigzagoon wants to go with you, and who would I be to deny him that."

"Are you sure?" Wally asked, looking up at the Gym Leader. Norman nodded, and Wally smiled at the Zigzagoon.

"You've already got Zigzagoon's poké ball." Norman said. "He's all yours now. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything, Norman." Wally said.

"Take good care of Zigzagoon, and one day, when you've both grown strong, come back and challenge me in Petalburg Gym. I'll be waiting."

"Of course Norman," Wally said. "I'd be honoured to battle you."

"Wally? Are you in here?" A voice came from outside. A man walked in, and Wally exclaimed "Dad!"

"Come on son, we're going now." Wally's dad said, and the six of us headed back outside to where a car was parked outside what must have been Wally's house. A woman that must have been Wally's mother was standing next to the car, and got in when she saw Wally coming over.

"Say goodbye to your friends, son," Wally's dad said. "Take as long as you want." And with that, the man walked over and joined his wife in the car.

"Well, this is goodbye Wally." Norman said, offering his hand out for Wally to shake. Wally smiled to Norman, and shook his hand. "I hope to see you again soon,"

"I do too Norman. Thanks for everything," Wally replied, then turned to Sky, Ben and me. "Bye, you three. I hope I'll see you again."

"Bye, Wally," Sky said, and Ben nodded his farewell.

"See you soon, yeah?" I asked, shaking his hand.

"Yep," Wally replied, determined. "If you're ever in Verdanturf, look me up,"

"Course we will," Ben answered. "Until next time…"

"Yep," Wally answered. "I'd better be going, so bye you guys,"

"See you, Wally," I said, waving him off as he got in his parents car. The four of us stood, waving as Wally and his parents drove off to Verdanturf Town.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry for the late update, I've been on holiday so I couldn't write the chapter, and once I'd actually finished it my internet died so I couldn't upload it. Also, I think I'll have to stop updating every friday, and just upload when I finished a chapter. It's just a bit stressful. But anyway here it is, a brand new chapter. Enjoy!

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><p>After we finished waving Wally off, the four of us headed back to the gym where I had a request for Norman.<p>

"Norman, you know how you're a gym leader…" I began, but he cut me off.

"Yes, I know I'm a Gym Leader," he said. "But I'm the fifth gym leader, and that only changes in exceptional circumstances,"

"Oh, okay then," I said sadly, but then he relinquished.

"Here's a compromise," he proposed. "I'll give you an official Gym Battle when you've earned four gym badges, but I'll have a practice battle with you now. You two as well if you want,"

"Yes, please," Sky asked, and Ben nodded.

"Thanks, Norman!" I said happily.

"Anytime. Shall we do it now, or…" he asked.

"Now sounds good," Ben said. "Can I go first? If it's alright with you two?"

"Sure, go for it," I encouraged, and Ben grinned.

"Okay then Ben, you're up first. If you'll follow me over here…" Norman said, leading Ben to the battle arena in the centre of the floor. "Would one of you two referee?"

"Sure," Sky walked over to the side of the arena and said in a loud clear voice. "This will be a one-on-one battle between the Gym Leader Norman and Ben. Trainers, release your Pokémon."

"Go Mudkip!" Ben said, letting his Mudkip out.

"Spinda, you're up!" Norman threw a poké ball into the air, and in a flash of white light a small, panda-like Pokémon, with spiral eyes and red spots all over its body. I held my pokédex up to it, and it read _Spinda, the Spot Panda Pokémon. It is distinguished by a pattern of spots that is always different. Its unsteady, tottering walk has the effect of fouling its foe's aim._

"Begin!" Sky shouted, and Norman called the first attack.

"Spinda, use Teeter Dance!" he shouted, and Spinda began to glow with a pink light. As Mudkip watched warily, Spinda began to dance unevenly from side to side. Ben raised an eyebrow sceptically, but soon Teeter Dance's effects became clear. As we watched, Mudkip stood on its hind legs and began dancing alongside Spinda. Ben frowned, annoyed, but Norman smiled and ordered his next attack.

"Go Spinda, Dizzy Punch!" he cried, and a glowing pink orb appeared on Spinda's fist. The normal-type Pokémon turned to Mudkip and punched it with the orb, sending Mudkip flying. The Mud Fish Pokémon hit the wall hard, but the impact seemed to have snapped him out of confusion.

"Quickly Mudkip, use Water Gun!" Ben ordered, and the blue Pokémon spat a stream of water at Spinda, but the Spot Panda Pokémon used Dig, burrowing underground and avoiding the attack. Mudkip looked around, trying to spot signs of Spinda, but there were none. Then, without warning, Spinda jumped up from beneath the floor behind Mudkip and landed another Dizzy Punch. Mudkip was thrown to one side, but managed to regain its balance and launch another Water Gun. This one found its mark, and Spinda was pushed back by the stream of water, but Norman wasn't bothered.

"Now Spinda, Psybeam!" Spinda leapt into the air and a multicoloured beam of light shot from Spinda's eyes at Mudkip. The Mud Fish Pokémon was hit head on, and flung to the ground. He tried to stand back up, but the effort was too much for him, and Mudkip fainted.

"Mudkip is unable to battle. The winner is Spinda!" Sky announced, and Norman congratulated his Pokémon.

"Well done, Spinda." Norman said, and Spinda happily ran back over to Norman's side.

"Good job, Mudkip," Ben said, recalling his Pokémon.

"Your Mudkip battled well." Norman said. "There aren't many Pokémon that can land a hit on Spinda."

"Thanks Norman," Ben said, walking over to join Sky.

"Can I battle next, Sky?" I asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks. Treecko, let's go!" The Wood Gecko Pokémon appeared on the battlefield, and stared across at Norman.

"Slakoth, I choose you!" Norman cried, releasing his Pokémon. A small, light brown Pokémon appeared on the battlefield and stared dumbly at Treecko.

"Slakoth?" Ben asked, and he held his pokédex up to it. He read out "Slakoth, the Slacker Pokémon. It sleeps virtually all day and night long. It doesn't change its nest its entire life, but it sometimes travels great distances by swimming in rivers."

"Okay Treecko, Quick Attack!" I ordered. Treecko dropped to all fours and ran at Slakoth, and as it ran a white streak appeared behind it, and Treecko tackled Slakoth to the ground. Treecko leapt back to its feet, anticipating an attack, but Slakoth just stared at Treecko. The Wood Gecko Pokémon, unnerved by Slakoth's gaze, warily tried a Pound attack. Slakoth was hit by the Wood Gecko Pokémon's tail, but it held its ground and kept staring at Treecko.

"Wait, why isn't Slakoth attacking?" Ben asked as Treecko landed another Pound. "It's just sitting there taking damage."

"That's Slakoth's ability." Norman said. "Truant. Slakoth can only attack occasionally, but when he does, he's very powerful. Like now. Go Slakoth, use Slash!" Treecko was running up to Slakoth with Quick Attack, but before it could hit, Slakoth raised its claws and raked them down on Treecko. Treecko was thrown back and landed with a thud on the arena floor.

"Now Slakoth, Slack Off," Norman said, and Slakoth rolled onto its back, and began to glow a faint white as its health recovered. While Slakoth was slacking off, Treecko was struggling to get back to its feet. Eventually it managed, and stood unevenly as it faced the now-recovered Slakoth. Treecko tottered a few steps, but then collapsed to the floor, knocked out.

"Treecko is unable to battle!" Sky announced. "The winner is Slakoth!"

Shocked, I recalled Treecko and returned his poké ball to my belt. Slakoth ran over and joined Spinda, and Norman smiled proudly at his two Pokémon.

"Looks like you're next Sky," Ben said as I walked back over to the side of the arena.

"Right," Sky replied confidently. "Surskit, come on out!" Sky's newest team member appeared in a flash of light and stood unsteadily on the arena floor. Norman looked down at his two Pokémon to try and decide who to use, but Slakoth had fallen into a deep slumber, so Spinda looked up hopefully. Norman nodded, and the Spot Panda Pokémon happily ran forward onto the arena.

"This will be a one-on-one battle between Norman and Sky," Ben announced. "Begin!"

"Go Surskit, Quick Attack!" Surskit skated across the arena towards Spinda at incredible speed, but Spinda pirouetted to the side and walloped Surskit with Dizzy Punch. Surskit skidded off to the wall, but managed to regain her balance and the Pond Skater Pokémon launched a BubbleBeam at Spinda. Surskit formed a small blue orb between its two front legs, and a multitude of bubbles shot out at Spinda. The bubbles popped on impact, and Spinda stumbled backwards, blinded by the attack. Surskit took the opportunity to try another Quick Attack, and this time it was a success. Spinda was sent flying, and thudded to the floor on the opposite end of the arena.

"Spinda, get up and use Faint Attack!" Norman ordered, and Spinda got back to its feet and ran at Surskit. Before the Pond Skater Pokémon could react, Spinda disappeared, reappeared behind Surskit and punched the bug and water type Pokémon. Surskit skidded forward, but spun and fired a BubbleBeam at Spinda. The attack hit head on, but Spinda took the attack and launched a Psybeam at Surskit. The beam of light zigzagged through the bubbles and hit Surskit, sending her reeling.

"Now, use Dizzy Punch!" The pink orb reappeared on Spinda's fist, and Spinda ran up to Surskit and punched the Pond Skater Pokémon. Surskit fell backwards and collapsed, knocked out.

"Spinda is unable to battle," Ben announced. "The winner is Spinda!" Sky sighed and returned her Pokémon.

"You did well for a first battle Surskit." Sky encouraged. "Good job,"

"You did well too Sky," Norman said, recalling his two Pokémon. "That was a hard fought battle,"

"Thanks, Norman," Sky smiled, and the two shook hands.

"I think we'd better go," I said, walking over to Norman. "Our Pokémon'll need healing after all that."

"Oh, okay." Norman said. "Just come and see me before you head off, yeah?"

"Sure," Ben replied.

"Bye Norman!" Sky said as we headed outside.

"See you later," I added, and the three of us made our way to the Pokémon centre. We headed inside, and walked to the desk where Nurse Joy was reading from a clipboard. She heard us approaching, and looked up and smiled.

"Hello, how may I help you?" she asked.

"Could we have a full restore on all our Pokémon please?" Sky asked, handing Taillow and Surskit to her. Ben passed Mudkip and I gave Ralts and Treecko over. Nurse Joy placed the five poké balls on the machine behind her and pushed the button for Full Restore. The poké balls flashed, and after a short wait, Nurse Joy handed the poké balls back to us and bowed her head briefly.

"Your Pokémon are fully healed." She said happily. "Lunch is being served now, so you are welcome to go to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat."

"Thanks Nurse Joy," I said, reattaching my poké balls to my belt. I led the way to the cafeteria to the side of the lobby, where we saw lots of Pokémon trainers having lunch with their Pokémon.

"Right. Sky, can you go find a table?" I asked, and Sky nodded and wandered off to find somewhere to sit. "Ben, could you go get the food for our Pokémon and I'll get ours."

"Sure," Ben replied, and he walked over to the counter where the Pokémon food was being served. You see, in a Pokémon centre cafeteria, there are two serving counters, one for humans, and one for Pokémon. For the Pokémon food, there are seventeen different flavours of food for the seventeen types of Pokémon, and you say what Pokémon you have, and the workers provide you with food for that Pokémon. If the Pokémon is dual-typed, then the mix the two flavours of Pokémon food together. It's quite simple really. Anyway, I headed over to the human counter and collected our lunches; a sandwich, crisps and a drink. I carried the food back over to where Sky and her Pokémon were sat, a table in the centre of the hall. I passed her her lunch and arranged mine on the table.

"Come on out, guys," I said, releasing Treecko and Ralts. The two Pokémon appeared on the table and went to stand over near Surskit and Taillow. Ben and Mudkip sat down next to me and handed out the Pokémon food.

"Here you are Mudkip," Ben said, handing a bowl to his Pokémon. "Taillow, Surskit, these are yours, and Treecko and Ralts, these are for you," Once all the food was handed out, the Pokémon wasted no time in digging in so we joined in as well. Once we had finished, Ben volunteered to take the trays back to the kitchen, so Sky and I headed out into the lobby to wait for him. Once he and Mudkip arrived, we recalled our Pokémon and headed back to the gym to say our goodbyes to Norman.

"Hello again," Norman said as we walked into the gym. "I guess you'll be heading off now."

"Yep, although I have no idea where the first gym is." I replied.

"Well it's a good thing I do." Norman smiled. "Just head east until you come to a beach, then head north through the woods, then follow the path across the lake and you're there. Rustboro City. Gym Leader Roxanne, a user of the Rock Type."

"Okay, thanks Norman," Sky said.

"How long do you reckon it'll take us to get there?" Ben asked.

"You should be able to get there by this evening, if you walk fast," he answered, smiling.

"Okay. Thanks for everything Norman." I said, shaking the gym leader's hand.

"Anytime." he replied, and turned to shake Sky and Ben's hands as well.

"I'll see you when I've got my fourth badge," I said, as the three of us began walking to the door.

"I'll look forward to it," Norman replied. "And don't think I'll go easy on you!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I grinned back.

"Bye Norman!" Sky said, as Ben waved.

The three of us headed out into Petalburg City, and after a quick directional check, we made our way towards Route 104, Rustboro City and my first gym badge.

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><p>Also, sorry if there are any inconsistencies with it and he or she when referring to pokemon, because sometimes if I'm writing I just type quickly and don't really pay attention. So sorry if that happens, but I can't really help it.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the wait!

I've been trying to legthen the chapters, but since this was taking so long I decided to upload what I'd done so far. I'll try and get them to Rustboro City next chapter. But for now, enjoy as a new team member arrives!

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><p>Once we had passed the boundary of Petalburg City, we walked for about twenty minutes before emerging out of the wooded area. Before us, a large expanse of grass spread out, before a person-size drop gave way to a pristine beach, and beyond the sand, the ocean glittered with the light of the noon sun. The three of us walked to the cliff and dropped down onto the golden sand.<p>

"Why don't we let our Pokémon out?" I asked, and I released Treecko and Ralts onto the beach, and Mudkip, Taillow and Surskit appeared next to them. The three of us sat up against the cliff face as our Pokémon ran off to play. Mudkip and Surskit splashed about in the water, while Treecko, Taillow and Ralts began a game of tig.

"Excuse me!" A voice shouted from up on the cliff. "By any chance, are you three Pokémon trainers?"

I turned and looked up, and saw a man standing at the edge of the cliff. "What gave it away?" I shouted back. The man grinned and dropped onto the sand next to us. He was a larger man, wearing sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt patterned with a poké ball on top of a traingle of three circles.

"I'm Scott," He said, offering a hand to shake. "And you three are?"

"I'm Damon," I replied, shaking his hand. "That's Ben, and that's Sky."

"Nice to meet you," Scott took turns to shake with Ben and Sky as well. "I'm searching Hoenn for talented trainers. But, your clothes aren't all that dirty. Are you three just starting out?"

"No," I said indignantly. "I don't like to brag, but I'm the Champion of Kanto and Johto. Sky's a runner up in the Kanto League two years ago, Top 4, and Ben's an awesome Pokémon trainer."

"Look, you three may be good in your old regions, but here in Hoenn, you're just starting, and, no offence, but there are tougher trainers than you." Scott said. "Sorry to bother you, I'll be going now. But I'm sure I'll see all of you again,"

"Bye." Sky said, annoyed. The three of us sat back down as Scott walked off up the beach. "I don't like that guy,"

"You have to admit, he has a point," Ben said. Sky whirled and glared at him, but Ben stood his ground. "Look at it this way. We all just lost to Norman, and if Scott's looking for the elite, I don't think we're there yet. You two may have been in the League's in Kanto and Johto, but we're in Hoenn now. A new start, right from the bottom."

"I guess you're right," I admitted.

"I suppose so," Sky sighed.

"Come on, we ought to get moving," Ben said, getting to his feet and brushing the sand off his clothes. "Norman said it'll take a while, and we want to see that Pokémon battle tonight, don't we?"

"Yep," I replied, and stood up. "Come on guys!" I shouted to the Pokémon. Treecko, Ralts and Taillow ran back straight away, but Mudkip and Surskit stayed in the water, looking at something.

"Mudkip!" Ben shouted. "Surskit! Come on, let's go!" Mudkip turned to its trainer and tried to call Ben over. He frowned, and we walked over to the two Pokémon. As we reached them, I saw a strange blue thing that looked like a large shell, about a foot in diameter. Ben held his pokédex up to it, and it read _Clamperl, the Bivalve Pokémon. A Clamperl slams its shell closed on prey to prevent escape. The pearl it creates upon evolution is said to be infused with a mysterious energy. _However the picture showed the shell open, with a small pink head inside. Another oddity was that the shell was glowing a faint purple.

"It's poisoned, and badly," Ben said, concerned. "Mudkip and Surskit must have found it like this. We have to help it."

"What is it?" Sky asked, her and the other Pokémon walking up behind us.

"It's a poisoned Pokémon." I replied. "It needs help."

"There's a house up there, we should go and see if they have any medicine," Sky said. "I'll go ahead and ask. You two stay here and keep an eye on the Clamperl. Come on, Surskit, Taillow," Sky and her two Pokémon ran off up the beach towards a small cottage at the northern end of the beach.

"Do you have any antidotes?" I asked Ben, but he shook his head. "Me either. Wait, I've got a Potion, though," I reached into my bag, and managed to find my last remaining Potion. I extracted it and passed it to Ben, who knelt down next to the injured Pokémon.

"Here, this'll help." Ben comforted as he sprayed the Potion onto the Clamperl. As the liquid was absorbed into Clamperl, the shell opened up and Clamperl's small pink head stared up at Ben. Ben smiled reassuringly, and the Bivalve Pokémon smiled sadly at Ben. I turned and glanced up to the cottage, and I saw Sky running back down the beach. Newt to her, an old man was running with a small, blue and white winged Pokémon flying alongside him. I held my pokédex up to it, and it read _Wingull, the Seagull Pokémon. It makes its nest on a sheer cliff at the edge of the sea. It has trouble keeping its wings flapping in flight. Instead, it soars on updrafts. _

Sky and the man ran up behind Ben and me, and he knelt down and examined the Clamperl.

"Hmm," The man said. "This Pokémon is badly poisoned, by a Tentacool no doubt. However, it's surprisingly strong."

"We just gave it a potion," I explained.

"Ah, I see," He nodded. "But, it still requires urgent attention. We have to get it to my cottage. The poisoning will worsen if we carry it, so it would be better if it went in a poké ball."

"Here," Ben said, and he brought out an empty poké ball. The man stood aside so Ben could kneel in front of the Clamperl. "Hey, Clamperl." Ben soothed. "I need you to get into the poké ball so we can help you feel better. Is that okay?" The Bivalve Pokémon nodded, and Ben gently tapped Clamperl's forehead with the ball. The Pokémon was sucked inside, and the ball clicked instantly due to a willing capture. Ben stood back up, and the man led the way back to his cottage. As we got closer, I was able to get a more thorough look. It was a small house, decorated inside with oars and pictures of old boats. Once we were inside, he instructed Ben to release Clamperl onto the table in the centre of the room. He did so, and the man brought out a pestle and mortar.

"Peeko, fetch me the Oran and Pecha berries please." He said, and the Wingull flew over to a cabinet and brought out a beakful of pink berries and blue berries. The man placed them in the mortar, and began grinding. "It's a good job you three found him when you did.

"Well, it was Mudkip and Surskit really," Ben said.

"Still, you did well coming to fetch me. I used to be a ship doctor, you see. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Briney, and this here is Peeko, my Wingull." The Pokémon chirped happily.

"Hello," I replied. "I'm Damon."

"I'm Ben,"

"And my name's Sky, nice to meet you."

"You too," Mr. Briney smiled. "Ah, this is ready." He had ground the berries into a fine powder, and after adding water and stirring, he fed the mixture to the Clamperl. The Pokémon drank thirstily, and once it was all gone the purple hue faded

"There we go. All better," Mr. Briney said happily. Ben knelt down in front of the Pokémon, and Clamperl smiled up at him.

"Do you want to come with us Clamperl?" Ben asked. "If not, I can just put you back in the sea." At the mention of returning to the sea, Clamperl shook his head fiercely, and nodded to the poké ball still in Ben's hand. "You want to come?" The Clameprl nodded again. "Okay then." Ben said happily. "Let's see what moves you know." Ben held his pokédex up to the Pokémon, and the moves read Clamp, Iron Defense, Water Gun and Hidden Power.

"Wow, its pretty high levelled." I commented.

"You fancy a battle with it?" Sky offered.

"Sure," Ben replied.

"I'll ref," I said.

"Do you mind if I watch?" Mr. Briney asked.

"Sure," Ben replied. "It's the least we can do for your healing Clamperl." Mr. Briney smiled, and the four of us and our Pokémon walked back outside to the beach. Sky and I marked out an arena in the sand, and she and Ben took their places at the opposite ends. Mr. Briney sat down on an old log next to the pitch, and Treecko, Ralts and Peeko went and stood next to him. I stepped up to the halfway line.

"This will be a one-on-one battle between Ben and Sky," I announced. "Trainers, position your Pokémon." Clamperl and Taillow took their places on the field, and Surskit and Mudkip ran over to stand with Mr. Briney and the others.

"Don't go easy on us Sky," Ben requested. "Clamperl needs to learn, one way or the other."

"Okay then," Sky said unsurely.

"Begin!" I shouted, and Sky darted in with the first attack.

"Go Taillow, use Quick Attack!" She shouted, and Taillow shot across the arena.

"Quick, Clamperl, Iron Defense!" Ben ordered, and Clamperl's shell sealed shut. Before Taillow could change direction, a metallic gleam spread across the shell, and Taillow crashed into it with a thud. Sky winced, but then called her next order.

"Go Taillow, get back to a safe distance!" She said, but Taillow was dazed and unable to move.

"Now, Clamperl, Clamp!" Ben ordered, and Clamperl's shell opened once more, the metallic gleam gone. Now, the shell glowed blue, and Clamperl Clamped onto Taillow's wing. Taillow cried out, and the pain snapped it out of its confusion.

"Taillow!" Sky shouted, concerned. "Break out with Wing Attack!" Taillow's wing glowed white, and the Tinyswallow swung it through the gap in Clamperl's shell. The attack hit the Bivalve Pokémon's head, and Clamperl released Taillow, dazed. Taillow, freed from Clamperl, took back to the sky and hovered a safe distance away. Or so he thought.

"Clamperl, Water Gun!" Ben commanded. Clamperl opened its mouth wide, and a spiral of water shot at Taillow. The attack hit head on, and Taillow thudded onto the sand.

"Come on Taillow, you can do it!" Sky encouraged. "Mud-Slap!" Using the wet sand, Taillow flapped its wings and blew the mud at Clamperl. The Bivalve Pokémon instinctively closed its shell, and the mud spattered onto it. Clamperl opened the shell again, but Taillow was nowhere to be seen. Without warning, Taillow sped down and hit Clamperl with Quick Attack. Clamperl was sent skidding backwards, but Ben knew what to do.

"Let's finish this Clamperl!" He shouted. "Hidden Power!" Clamperl glowed yellow, and a cluster of glowing orbs appeared in front of the Bivalve Pokémon. Clamperl cried out, and the orbs shot at Taillow. They exploded on impact, and Taillow went flying. The Tinyswallow Pokémon crashed into the sand, knocked out.

"Taillow is unable to battle!" I announced. "The winner is Clamperl!"


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the belated update, I've just been really busy with starting school again and homework and stuff, and when I finally finished the chapter the internet died. Anyway, here's Chapter 12 and I've already made a fair bit of headway into the next chapter, so that should be up in a couple of days hopefully. Roxanne's coming up, maybe two or three chapters away and some new team members as well, so that'll be happening soon. But anyway, enjoy and review please!

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><p>Sky held up Taillow's poké ball, and the Tinyswallow Pokémon returned for a rest. "Good job Taillow," Sky said. "You battled hard."<p>

"Nice one Clamperl!" Ben congratulated. "That was brilliant."

"Well done, both of you!" Mr. Briney said. "I can tell you'll both become very strong Pokémon trainers."

"Thanks, Mr. Briney," Sky answered.

"Well, I think you three ought to be heading on now," he replied. "If you want to make it to Rustboro City by this evening."

"Yeah, you're right." I said, recalling Treecko and Ralts. "Come on guys, let's get going,"

"Thanks for everything, Mr. Briney," Ben said, returning his Pokémon to their balls.

"Hope to see you again!" Sky said, as Surskit re-entered its poké ball.

"I do too," He smiled, as Peeko perched on his shoulder. "Bye!"

"Bye Mr. Briney!" I shouted back, as the three of us climbed up off the beach. "Well he was nice,"

"Yeah," Ben said. "I hope we see him again."

"Hey, look up there," Sky said, pointing. "Those must be the woods Norman mentioned." Ahead of us, the trees darkened as they grew more dense overhead. As we walked further, the woods grew darker until only blotches of light remained to illuminate the grassy ground.

"How do we know we're going the right way?" Ben asked suddenly.

"Umm," Sky started, but she couldn't think of an ending to that sentence.

"Just thought I'd point it out," Ben said, walking over to a nearby tree. "We'd better find the right path if we want to get to Rustboro,"

"Yeah, but what are you doing?" I asked, as Ben looked the tree up and down.

"There's one easy way to find out where we need to go," he replied pointing up,

"Really?" Sky asked, exasperated.

"Have a better idea?" Ben replied as he began to climb, leaving his bag at the base of the trunk.

"Hey, wait up!" I called, running up to the tree. After pulling out my binoculars, I dumped my bag on the roots and climbed up after him.

"I'll wait down here, shall I?" Sky shouted up. Ben and I climbed up the tall tree, and eventually poked through the branches at the top. Perching on a thick bough, we scanned the woodland for the exit to Rustboro City. Ben pulled out a compass, and pointed towards north.

"It should be that way," Ben said, and I handed him the binoculars. After looking for a few seconds, he handed the binoculars back to me. I looked where he was pointing through them, and saw a lake in the distance.

"Are you sure that's it?" I asked.

"No, but I can't see anything else, and Norman said it was north," He replied. "Let's go,"

As we made to return down the tree, we heard Sky shout, then a thud, as running footsteps passed. I glanced at Ben, he nodded, and I let go of the bough and dropped to the forest floor, landing heavily on the mossy ground. I saw Sky sprawled on the floor, and saw a man in a bandana, with a big briefcase running off between the trees. I saw Ben peering down from the canopy, and shouted "Follow him!" Ben nodded, and took off after the assailant. I walked over to Sky, and helped her up.

"Ow," She grimaced, brushing her hair back. "I think I hurt my ankle,"

"Hey, stop him!" A voice cried from behind us. We turned and saw a big man in a suit running up. He was panting heavily, and his face was red. "He took my briefcase," He said weakly, and collapsed to the floor.

"I'll stay with him," Sky said. "We'll catch up. Go, get after him,"

"Are you sure?" I asked, concerned

"I'll be fine. Go, before he gets away!" Reluctantly, I turned and ran after the man. Trying to catch up, I pulled Ralts' poké ball from my belt and released the Feeling Pokémon onto my shoulder. "Ralts, can you find the man that ran through here?" Ralts nodded, and closed her eyes. Ralts began to glow a faint blue, as her ability, Trace, worked its magic. After a moment, Ralts opened her eyes and pointed off to the right.

"Thanks, Ralts," I asked, and leaping over tree roots I sped up. After a few seconds, I saw the assailant in the distance, on the far edge of a large puddle. "Ralts, use Confusion!" I ordered, and the Feeling Pokémon nodded. I saw the man glow blue, and suddenly he fell, rolling head over heels. I slowed to a jog as the man came to a rest. He looked around, confused, but then saw us and scowled.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" He shouted, as he got to his feet. "I could have been seriously hurt!"

"Give it up, thief!" I said, walking towards him, but then I stopped as I recognized his uniform. The insignia on his bandanna, an A with the two prongs looking like bones. "You're from Team Aqua," I said.

"How do you know that?" He frowned. "Oh, I don't care. If you're going to try and stop me, then I have to stop you. Go Snorunt, Icy Wind!" A small, black Pokémon with small blue eyes and a large yellow cloak covering its body appeared, and blew a blue wind of snow at me and Ralts. However, as the attack neared, Ralts held up her hands and the attack stopped in mid-air. The Team Aqua grunt frowned as the attack evaporated.

"Now, use Headbutt!" he ordered, and the Snorunt ran at Ralts and slammed into the Feeling Pokémon with its head. Ralts fell backwards, but quickly got back to her feet.

"Good job, Ralts," I said. "Now use Secret Power!" Ralts glowed pink, and a pink energy wave shot out at Snorunt. The Pokémon fell backwards, and collapsed, sending water flying. Snorunt got back up, but wasn't moving as fast as before. Secret Power must have different effects depending on the terrain when it is used.

The Team Aqua grunt growled, and barked "ICE SHARD!" Snorunt formed a ball of ice in front of its mouth, and fired it at Ralts. The attack moved very fast, and hit Ralts before she could move. Ralts flew backwards, but steadied herself and glared at Snorunt. Moving quickly, Ralts launched a Secret Power, and then another. The two attacks crashed into Snorunt, but the Pokémon recovered and fired an Ice Shard at Ralts. This time, Ralts glowed, and illusory copies of the Feeling Pokémon appeared in an arc from where the original one was. I blinked; I didn't know Ralts had learned Double Team. The Ice Shard flew through one of the copies, and it flickered out of existence. Snorunt growled, and fired more Ice Shards until all but one Ralts were gone. Deducing that this was the real one, the Pokémon launched a final Ice Shard, but that copy faded as well. His grin disappearing, the grunt looked around the clearing for Ralts, but she was nowhere to be found. Even I didn't know what was happening. Suddenly, the Feeling Pokémon stepped out from behind a tree behind Snorunt, and launched a Secret Power. The Pokémon was thrown forward, and landed heavily in the puddle, defeated.

"WHAT?" The man shouted. "How did you do that?"

"I'm guessing that Ralts was one of the copies, but she teleported just before an Ice Shard hit," I answered. "Creating the illusion that it was a copy," He growled in reply.

"Return, Snorunt," He muttered angrily, and recalled his Pokémon. "You may have beaten me, but you can't catch me!" Suddenly, he turned tail and sprinted off. Startled, I recalled Ralts and made to follow him, but I heard a familiar voice shout "Water Gun!" Two jets of water shot down from the treetops and knocked the grunt off his feet. He crashed down, the briefcase flying from his grasp. I ran over and snatched it up, and then Ben, with Mudkip and Clamperl in his arms, dropped down next to me. Sky and the man caught up to us as well, and as the four of us faced the grunt, his shoulders sagged knowing he was caught.

"You've got some nerve, meddling with Team Aqua…" He muttered. "It doesn't matter. Keep the goods. We're after something in Rustboro as well. I'll let you go today. But don't think this'll happen again!" The grunt turned tail and ran off into the trees. I made to run after him, but the man stretched out an arm and stopped me.

"Let him go," He said gently. "I've got the Devon Goods back, and no-one got hurt. That's the important thing. Thank you for helping me, by the way,"

"I guess you're right, and it's no trouble," I sighed. "Who are you anyway?"

"Oh, I work for the Devon Corporation." He answered as I passed him back his briefcase. "I presume you've heard of Silph in Kanto?" We nodded. "Well, we're like them. We're a huge company based out of Rustboro City, and we sell a lot of products throughout Hoenn, like specialist poké balls and various other things."

"Specialist poké balls?" Sky asked. "What sort of specialist?"

"Here," He said, and reached into his pocket and pulled out a strip of fabric with seven different poké balls on it. He handed it to Sky, and she pulled off the first one, an all white poké ball apart from a red rim. "That's called a Premier Ball. There's nothing special about it, we just give it away when you buy ten of any poké ball. Ben pulled off the second and third ones; one looked ordinary apart from a strand of yellow and black circles running over the top, and the other was white, with two red lines over the sides, a black circle on top and a red crest in the circle.

"Repeat and Timer Balls," He said. "Repeat Balls work better with Pokémon you've caught before, and Timer Balls work better the longer the battle has been going."

"Those'd be useful for you, Damon," Ben jibed, and I laughed sarcastically.

"Those next two are Nest and Net Balls," The man said as I took the next two off. "Nest Balls work better on low level Pokémon, and Net Balls are designed for water- and bug-type Pokémon."

"Wow," I said as I looked at the balls. The Nest Ball had a khaki colour top, with concentric yellow rings on, and the Net Ball had a blue top, with a black pattern resembling a net on.

I reattached the two balls, and when I handed it back to Ben he did the same, but then examined the last two, an all black one apart from a red rim and a red ring on the top and bottom; and a poké ball with the pattern of waves on it.

"What are these two?" Ben asked.

"Those are my personal favourites." The man smiled. "The Luxury and Dive Balls. The Luxury Ball, the black and red one, makes a Pokémon become friendly quicker, and the Dive Ball works better on Pokémon encountered on water, either on the surface or beneath the waves."

"Cool," I said, as Ben replaced the balls and Sky's, and handed them back to the man.

"Wait a second," Ben said. "Didn't that guy say they were after something in Rustboro? And since he targeted you, a Devon employee, that leads to the conclusion that they may attack Devon."

"Uhh," The man muttered as Ben's words sunk in. "Oh no! I have to go, but drop in at the Devon Building when you have time. I need to say thank you for helping me!" The man ran off after the grunt as we waved him goodbye.

"That was a strange turn of events," Sky commented.

"Yep," I replied. "Anyway, Ben, which way do we need to go?"

Ben looked at the compass for a moment, then pointed off to the north-west. "That way,"

"Let's go then," Sky said and started to run, but stopped and cried out in pain as she stepped with her ankle. "Oww!" She moaned. "That hurt,"

"Come on, we'll walk," I said, offering a hand to her. I helped her up, and with her arm around me for support, the three of us began walking towards Rustboro City.


End file.
